The Barrier Free Car

[kach22i]

Kenguru car: instant cruising for the disabled
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/06/16/kenguru_car_ins.html

Ah, Europeans — always doing right by their disabled people. A Hungarian company has made a car called the Kenguru (as in "kangaroo") that a wheelchair-bound person can just slide right into, doing away with the inconvenience of using a regular car that was never designed for people with limited mobility. After entering through the rear of the vehicle, the driver never has to leave his wheelchair. Just drive away, steer with the joystick, park, and slide out again. The car only fits one, though, and I've gotta say it looks smaller and less powerful than a golf cart. Convenience is the trump card here, of course, but does it justify the $12,500 price tag? As long as you can pay for it with your health-care plan, I guess there's no reason to complain. — Peter Pachal

[scottmandue]

A friend of mine had a mini van converted so he could roll his wheel chair right up to the steering wheel and drive.

Not as cool as that but he could carry passengers... makes me wonder why no one has developed a dedicated handicap vehicle. I suppose if someone designed one it would have to pass DOT making it cost prohibitive.

[the]

It would help if the disability the owner of that car was suffering from was blindness.

[Tobra]

It costs more to convert an existing vehicle to one that a WC bound person could use in the same fashion than this thing costs overall. Not a bad idea.